Intravenous Low-dose Buprenorphine for Acute Pain Management in the Emergency Department: A Case Series
Introduction: Buprenorphine is used for treating opioid use disorder, but its role as an analgesic in the emergency department (ED) is frequently overlooked. Emerging evidence indicates that, at low doses, it can be used safely and advantageously as an alternative to full-agonist opioids for treatin...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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eScholarship Publishing, University of California
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Clinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine |
| Online Access: | https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3x35f05c |
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| author | Jonathan Lee Nicholas Ashenburg Joshua Park Terence Ahern |
| author_facet | Jonathan Lee Nicholas Ashenburg Joshua Park Terence Ahern |
| author_sort | Jonathan Lee |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction: Buprenorphine is used for treating opioid use disorder, but its role as an analgesic in the emergency department (ED) is frequently overlooked. Emerging evidence indicates that, at low doses, it can be used safely and advantageously as an alternative to full-agonist opioids for treating acute pain. Case Series: This case series examines the novel use of intravenous (IV) low-dose buprenorphine for acute pain management in the ED for five patients presenting with diverse past medical history and varied painful indications. Conclusion: Intravenous low-dose buprenorphine may represent an important new tool in our ED armamentarium, and research into its role in emergency pain management is warranted. Further work is needed to determine optimal dosing strategies and identify which patients will be most likely to benefit from IV low-dosebuprenorphine in the ED. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-63a4ef55097644c1af4be0713e1a4e0b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2474-252X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | eScholarship Publishing, University of California |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Clinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine |
| spelling | doaj-art-63a4ef55097644c1af4be0713e1a4e0b2025-08-20T03:41:52ZengeScholarship Publishing, University of CaliforniaClinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine2474-252X2025-07-019326426710.5811/cpcem.43494cpcem-9-264Intravenous Low-dose Buprenorphine for Acute Pain Management in the Emergency Department: A Case SeriesJonathan Lee0Nicholas Ashenburg1Joshua Park2Terence Ahern3Stanford University School of Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, Palo Alto, CaliforniaStanford University School of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Palo Alto, CaliforniaStanford Health Care, Department of Pharmacy, Palo Alto, CaliforniaStanford University School of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Palo Alto, CaliforniaIntroduction: Buprenorphine is used for treating opioid use disorder, but its role as an analgesic in the emergency department (ED) is frequently overlooked. Emerging evidence indicates that, at low doses, it can be used safely and advantageously as an alternative to full-agonist opioids for treating acute pain. Case Series: This case series examines the novel use of intravenous (IV) low-dose buprenorphine for acute pain management in the ED for five patients presenting with diverse past medical history and varied painful indications. Conclusion: Intravenous low-dose buprenorphine may represent an important new tool in our ED armamentarium, and research into its role in emergency pain management is warranted. Further work is needed to determine optimal dosing strategies and identify which patients will be most likely to benefit from IV low-dosebuprenorphine in the ED.https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3x35f05c |
| spellingShingle | Jonathan Lee Nicholas Ashenburg Joshua Park Terence Ahern Intravenous Low-dose Buprenorphine for Acute Pain Management in the Emergency Department: A Case Series Clinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine |
| title | Intravenous Low-dose Buprenorphine for Acute Pain Management in the Emergency Department: A Case Series |
| title_full | Intravenous Low-dose Buprenorphine for Acute Pain Management in the Emergency Department: A Case Series |
| title_fullStr | Intravenous Low-dose Buprenorphine for Acute Pain Management in the Emergency Department: A Case Series |
| title_full_unstemmed | Intravenous Low-dose Buprenorphine for Acute Pain Management in the Emergency Department: A Case Series |
| title_short | Intravenous Low-dose Buprenorphine for Acute Pain Management in the Emergency Department: A Case Series |
| title_sort | intravenous low dose buprenorphine for acute pain management in the emergency department a case series |
| url | https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3x35f05c |
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